When I can eat, I eat.

People take vacations for a lot of reasons. I usually follow the standard train of thought about it, to relax, get away, see something new.

But first and foremost, it's for the food. That as the case for the beginning of this week when Greg I headed to Chicago. The goal was to get away before the craziest of a new job, living together and the wedding gets closer and closer. We didn't really make any plans. We only loaded up our bikes and planned to ride. That we did. I think we did about 30 miles during the three days. We hit the bike path along the lake shore, riding all but 9 miles of it and also wandered through the streets, from Bryn Mawr to Wrigleyville to the Gold Coast and back to our hotel in the Magnificent Mile.


Good thing we rode so much because boy did we eat!


Night #1

Tapas. a friend of mine from college was nice enough to treat us to his favorite tapas restaurant near his home. Tapas Valencia. We enjoyed mango and pomegranate sangria, spicy potatoes, goat cheese in tomato sauce, dates wrapped with bacon, and on and on and on. Both Greg and I are big fans of tapas. While visiting the city for my sister's bachlorette party we ate tapas at Cafe Ba-Ba Reeba. Their tapas were great, but their paella was even better. I wanted to venture out and try a new tapas place this trip, but I can't wait to go back and get more paella one day.


Day #2: Lunch

This day was all about riding, so for breakfast we just grabbed a muffin and banana to have enough sustenance to get through the ride. Our plan was to go as far as we could get, then venture into the city and find something to eat. By the time we got to Wrigleyville about two hours in, we already knew where we were going. Lucky's. Yes, an overstuffed sandwich with french fries and coleslaw may not be the best when you're out on a ride, but it hit the spot with us. We passed this restaurant last year while going to see the Cardinals play the Cubs and around 11:30 on a Monday afternoon it was one of the few places actually open in Wrigleyville. I opted for the roast beef with cheese. Honestly, I probably wouldn't have been able to finish if we hadn't been working out so hard. The best thing about the sandwich, the vinegar based coleslaw that ended up coating the french fries. I've never had anything like it. If I found myself starving again, I would try another. However, I would not do three in an hour, which is the food challenge they offer. Ugh. Gross.

Day #2: Dinner

After a wonderful architecture boat tour along the Chicago River, we headed to dinner at a place I've been wanting to try for awhile now, The Purple Pig. The fun thing about this place was everything on the menu was something new. We started with a couple appetizers including tomato and garlic smear and prosciutto bread balls. Both were excellent and the perfect warm up for the main courses we split: chicken kebabs with crispy fried potatoes and tatziki sauce and pig jowl with peas and carrots.


Greg actually ordered the jowl, even after I explained to him what the jowl is. The chicken was excellent. It was a little salty for my taste, but I believe the reason for that was the crispy crust. They kept the skin on and it had the perfect crunch like I've never had before.


The jowl was a little more interesting. It was basically like a fatty bacon, but the fresh peas that tasted like they were right out of the pod and quickly blanched along with the delicious, creamy carrot puree made the whole dish come together.


Since we were on a bit of an eating binge, we opted for dessert. Greg's found a new obsession with bread puddings so we got the marsala and citrus bread pudding. I've never had a bad bread pudding and this was no exception.


Day #2: Evening Snack

Greg and I have a wonderful tradition of trying gelato on vacation. We have yet to visit a place that doesn't have gelato. On our evening out, we stopped by a gelato place in a park on Rush Street. Here we got the strawberry, Greg's flavor of choice. It was great. It was as if they had crushed the fresh strawberry juice in the creamy frozen dessert. A perfect way to end our first full day of eating.


Day #3: Breakfast

What do you eat for breakfast when you're on vacation? Cupcakes of course! Both day three and four cupcakes were our breakfast and they were so good both Greg and I have found ourselves craving more, right around the time we wake up. Now I'm not a huge cupcake, or cake fan for that matter. But these puppies I could eat everyday. Sprinkles. I know, they're not Chicago native, rather L.A., but I've heard about them for years and there was a store right near our hotel, so we stopped in just so I could say I've tried one.


I wasn't expecting anything great, but wow, do they live up to the hype. The first day we got the peanut butter chip. It was a peanut butter cupcake with chocolate chips, a peanut butter frosting and chocolate sprinkles. Oh. My. Goodness. It was the softest, creamiest, most delicious simple dessert I've ever had. The next day we tried a chocolate marshmellow cupcake. I'm not a huge chocolate fan, but again, the cake just melted in your mouth leaving you craving another the minute it was devoured. I will definitely be stopping at a Sprinkles bakery every time I see one from now on. I guess it's a good thing there aren't many around the places I frequent.


Day #3: Lunch

After at trip to the top of the Willis Tower, Greg and I met my cousin and his wife at Gino's East for lunch. Ironically, the two were staying only a few doors down from us at the same hotel! It seems the odds for that would be small, but we took advantage by enjoying a long lunch together. Last year Greg and I tried Lou Malnati's deep dish pizza. We were big fans, and this time wanted to try another famous pizzeria in the Windy City. Once again, we got the sausage pizza where they layer the crust, then the cheese, then an entire patty of sausage and finally the sauce. Our final verdict was we like Lou Malnati's better. The Gino's pizza had a very crisp, almost cornbread like crust. They also had less sauce. While we didn't feel as stuffed after scarfing down two pieces, we really like the buttery, softer crust and more tomato oriented sauce at Lou Malnati's. Next time, we'll have to try Giordanos.


Day #3: Dinner

What's a trip to Chicago without steak? A couple days before we left, Greg decided he wanted to go to a steakhouse. We opted for Harry Caray's. My sister and brother-in-law have told us how much they liked it and we said why not? I guess it's a little touristy and not the highest end steak house around, but we really enjoyed it. Greg tried a Tallgrass New York Strip and garlic mashed potatoes. I got the special, a 9 ounce filet with roasted red pepper potatoes and a guava reduction. Both steaks were excellent. I wasn't a big fan of the potatoes, they were too spicy. That's more of Greg's taste, so I ended up eating his and he got mine.


Day #4: Lunch

After our cupcake breakfast, we knew where our final meal in Chicago would take place. Orange. It's the best breakfast/lunch place I've ever set foot in. We visited it during our last trip and I had to come back. There is so much on the menu I want to try. Forget about the Frushi, which I could eat everyday, the meals are wonderful too. Greg got the chirizo hash, which was great. I had the Tijuana Benedict. A chipotle hollendaise with pico de gallo, and egg and a biscuit. On the side, rosemary potatoes. Yum. Yum. Yum. It filled us up just enough to take another hour and half ride around town and head home.


Needless to say, we were satisfied when we left. We got a good mix of tourist and local spots and didn't have one thing we didn't like. While I love stepping out the door and having whatever food I'd like, I think it's best reserved for vacation.